Our scientists competed in marshmallow races today.  This activity led to some deeper thoughts and discussions about friction from the carpet versus the tile, and also all the different factors that would affect the outcome of the race such as how you position the marshmallow, what kind of breaths you take, and the speed at which you are breathing.  I am really  focusing on the kids not looking for the "right" answer but letting their ideas lead to deeper thinking and new questions. 

 

 
Yup... It's going to be an interesting year!!






Recess Fun!!!

Grade 4 completed a scientific exploration today that will represent a model to learn about the scientific method.  The students will be working on developing skills associated with scientific investigation.  These include observing, asking questions, analyzing data, drawing conclusions and communicating results.  Today we really focused on simply measuring accurately.   It was quite interesting to watch some of the techniques. 

The Box Top lady, a.k.a. Mrs. Sheranian made a visit to the Intermediate wing today.  She talked to the students about collecting box tops.  We have a school wide goal of collecting 10,000 box tops and there are also incentives for the kids to start collecting. Be sure to ask your child about it.  Each of the kids brought home a flyer that explains how it works.

We already have our first donation.

Here is a list of supplies you will need for next year:

Ø  At least six composition notebooks.  (They are much sturdier than the 1-subject notebooks.)  Choose a variety of colors so you will be able to tell them apart.  This makes it easier to locate them during the day.

Ø  Dry erase markers (dark-colored, large tipped ones)

Ø  A pair of old yet clean socks or an eraser for your white board

Ø  Lots of pencils (most of them kept at home until you need them)

Ø  Pens, colored and bright to use for our interactive notebooks.

Ø  Wedge erasers /pencil sharpener

Ø  1-inch binder

Ø  Glue sticks

Ø  Scissors you are comfortable using. Most fourth graders use adult size ones.

Ø  You will also need a pencil box to keep all your materials in.

Ø  A set of markers

Here are some optional items that you could donate to our class:

Ø  Clorox Wipes (any brand)

Ø  Post-it sheets of all sizes and varieties.  We use lots of them!

Ø  Markers

Ø  Quart and snack sized Ziplocs

Ø  Donations for the Gotcha box

Ø  Tissues

Ø  More glues sticks

 

The 3-5 kids had a great time decorating pumpkin cookies and watching a  movie together.

The kids read scary stories in the darkened classroom.  They had lots of fun sharing.  We then followed up with a special reading from Avery that turned out to be a big hit in the classroom. 

The class read different types of fictional novels this month.  They told about the “body of the story”  putting together “skeleton” mobiles.  They were very pleased with their finished projects.  Be sure to check them out. They’re  hanging outside of the classroom.

Grade 4 explored properties of waves using Slinkies. Students had several challenges to explore such as how to create a wave with a very short/long wavelength.  

 The students are developing their multiplicative reasoning skills and making mathematical arguments using pictures, numbers and words. The students used paperclips to measure a dog named Little and then used that information to predict the height of a dog named Big.